15 May 2008 | Albania’s rise as an up-and-coming real estate development destination was reconfirmed at the country’s first international conference on the issue, which took place recently.

“(We’re) at an early state of real estate development that will become an attractive market in three to five years,” Philip Bay of real estate consultants Colliers International was quoted as saying by media.

Low prices are already attracting some investors who plan on real estate developments in the country, such as the construction of shopping malls and other retail businesses.

According to publications, Tirana, Albania's capital, currently has just 28,000 square meters of office space, which it hopes to double in five years.

In addition, the government has marked land to build six business parks, one of them up to 850 hectares, all with good sea and airport access.

Another one of the country’s attractions is its many unspoiled areas, which experts advise the country to use in order to attract high-end tourism rather than completing with the low to mid-range offers by neighbouring Greece and Turkey.

These factors, combined with last month’s invitation to Albania to join NATO, pave the way fast-developing real estate sector. And although they are not exactly news, as BalkanTravellers.com reported on the country’s path to becoming the next big thing in real estate as far back as the beginning of February, the recent conference confirmed that this rise is continuing as expected.